Kaios and Mastercard to help SMEs in developing markets adopt digital payments

KaiOS,  whose mobile operating system brings the internet to affordable devices, has announced a partnership with payment giant Mastercard to integrate a range of digital payments solutions for developing markets, beginning with Cote d’Ivoire and Nigeria.

As the partners explain, small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs) – especially in developing markets – still struggle to adopt digital payments. Thus KaiOS and Mastercard are partnering to help millions of SMEs globally accept digital payments using KaiOS devices. 

The promise is that even the smallest businesses will be able to use low-cost devices to accept payments safely and easily via Mastercard QR Pay by Link; Tap & Go contactless payments technology is promised in the near future. 

Business owners can use their KaiOS-powered phone to enrol for the service. After entering their registered credentials and authenticating via a one-time password, SMEs can then access and immediately use a variety of digital payment options.

Sebastien Codeville, chief executive officer of KaiOS Technologies, explains: “By bringing Mastercard’s secure payment technology to affordable internet phones running KaiOS, we’re unlocking new opportunities for small businesses and entrepreneurs, allowing them to participate in modern commerce more fully. This innovation brings down barriers and enables an affordable consumer device to become a powerful business tool.”

Mastercard and KaiOS will focus on African markets first, collaborating with partners like Touch and Pay Technologies (TAP), a NIgerian IT service company leveraging NFC (near field communication) technology, and Wizzit, a global innovative payment solution provider with offices in South Africa. This will help the initiative to extend access to in-market merchants.

Olamide Afolabi, chief executive officer of TAP, says: “By integrating KaiOS into our platform, we’re enabling millions of users with feature phones to access seamless digital payment solutions and financial services that were previously out of reach.” 

Dirk Bruynse, chief operating officer of Wizzit adds: “This partnership will enable us to scale our switching capabilities and deliver innovative payment solutions that cater to the evolving needs of businesses of all sizes.”

KaiOS already works with all major carriers, mobile network operators, and mobile phone manufacturers in emerging regions. It says its expansion plans include acquiring banks, payment facilitators, fintechs and more.